President Donald Trump stated in recent interviews that no American service members have been killed in the Iran war over the past five months. This claim stands in direct contrast to official Pentagon records, which confirm 23 American deaths in the region during the conflict. According to The Washington Post, the president made these remarks during a conversation on The Hugh Hewitt Show.
During the segment, he claimed, “We haven’t lost a soldier in five months, and we control the Gulf.” The outlet reported that, according to Pentagon data, 11 of those 23 deaths resulted from enemy fire, while 12 occurred in nonhostile circumstances. These casualties include three soldiers who died in a July attack on an air base in Jordan, as well as deaths involving a drone detonation in Iraq and an emergency landing in the Arabian Sea.
In a separate interview with Stephen A. Smith, the president discussed how regional partners have impacted his military strategy. “I could end it immediately, but at the request of the nations that I’m looking to protect, we are doing it a little bit longer way,” Trump said. He identified several countries, including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, the UAE, and Bahrain, as nations that prefer this waiting period. He also mentioned that he includes Israel among the countries the United States is seeking to protect.
Trump said U.S. forces have left some Iranian targets untouched
The president also told Smith that U.S. forces had deliberately left Iranian infrastructure like bridges, manufacturing capabilities, and energy sites untouched, per the Jerusalem Post. He asserted that he could destroy these remaining targets in just three days.
“If I want to take them out, I hit there in one day. Their energy is gone. In one day, their bridges are gone. And in one day, their manufacturing capability is gone,” he told Smith. He further mentioned the possibility of striking an Iranian nuclear site known as Pickaxe Mountain if he deems it necessary.
A significant portion of the conversation with Smith reportedly addressed the Republican midterm losses. When asked if the war and rising energy costs contributed to these results, Trump acknowledged that multiple factors were involved. “Maybe the war was not unpopular as a war, but unpopular because of the fact that the gasoline prices were higher, the oil prices,” he said.
Trump said that he had believed the people would have been able to deal with the pressures of the prices. He defended this economic impact, remarking, “It’s not a big price to pay for stopping the number one state sponsor of terror, which is the Islamic Republic of Iran, and stopping them from having a nuclear weapon.”
The Jerusalem Post noted that Smith’s interview also touched on the administration’s future. Trump indicated he is preparing for a new Congress with a Democratic majority and plans to use his veto power on legislation he views as harmful.
Toward the end of the interview, the outlet noted that Trump and Smith discussed the resignation of Jensen Huang, the former CEO of Nvidia. The president described him as a “fine man” and suggested Apple CEO Tim Cook as a successor.
Published: Nov 13, 2026 01:30 pm